Photo by Todd Weddle / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

A shooting suspect is held at bay by a St. Joseph Police officer Wednesday morning.

The sound of a gun fired in the air scrambled police officers to a downtown parking lot Wednesday. Officers rushed to a parking lot across Felix from an addiction treatment center at about 9:25 a.m. Wednesday.

Veteran officer Richard Woodley arrived on the scene spotting a white male and black male walking across Felix Street.

“Get down on the ground,” Mr. Woodley said as he drew and aimed his pistol.

Mr. Woodley repeated the order several times before the men complied. “The two men had their backs to me and didn’t appear to be paying any attention,” he said. “They may not have noticed I was there.”

Mr. Woodley hadn’t turned on his squad car lights or siren. As he repeated the orders, he continued walking toward a white male, who was wearing a striped golf shirt and blue jeans and the black male, who had dreadlocks, stood about 5 feet, 11 inches and weighed about 300 pounds. Both men were taken into custody. The black male was transported to the Law Enforcement Center. Officers released the white male a few minutes later.

Police officers recovered a hand gun from the trunk of a red Chevrolet and found six shell casings lying on the ground at the rear of the car. Several people in the downtown area had reported hearing multiple shots fired.

According the white male, the incident may have begun Tuesday evening.

"I made a mistake," the white male told a News-Press reporter. He added that he'd seen the black male at the Family Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare's Addiction Treatment Center, 917 Felix St., that evening and sensed that the black male needed rehabilation help. Then Wednesday morning, the two ran into each other again at a local gas station and the white male convinced the black male to accompany him to the Family Guidance Center.

"I didn't know he had a gun," the white male said.

After the shots were fired, the white male said he struggled with the black male and took the gun away because he "didn't want to see anyone hurt." That's when the white male allegedly tossed the weapon in the trunk of his vehicle.

Police released the red Chevrolet and allowed the white male to leave the area.

Moments before police arrived, the two men had a tussle in the parking lot, shoving each other. Then the white male walked to the red car and threw something in the trunk. Police later recovered a weapon from the trunk.

Police are still investigating and additional details are expected to released.